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Chemische ElementeChemical Elements

Basic Chemical Elements  Chemische Grundstoffe

To date, scientists have discovered 112 basic chemical elements. (Elements 111 and 112 have yet to be named.) These Grundstoffe or Elemente are chemical matter that cannot be broken down any further by chemical means. The following chart lists each element in alphabetical order (by the German name, which is usually similar to the English; see our English-German table for the names of common elements that differ from English). The number under the chemical symbol (chemisches Zeichen) is the atomic number or Protonenzahl/Ordnungszahl. The column on the far right also lists the Entdecker (discoverer) and the year (Jahr) of discovery.

Genders: All but six element names in German are neuter (das), including the many elements that end in -ium, -en or -on. Only der Phosphor, der Schwefel (sulphur) and the four elements ending with -stoff are masculine (e.g., der Wasserstoff = hydrogen).

Also see information about the Periodic Table further down on this page.

Das Periodensystem der Elemente (PSE)Die systematische Anordnung der chemischen Elemente nach ihrerer Ordnungs- oder Kernladungszahl. - The periodic system or periodic law for chemical elements was first developed in 1869 by the Russian Dmitri I. Mendeléyev (1834-1907). The German chemist J. Lothar Meyer (1830-1895) independently developed a similar system around the same time. The element mendeleviumatomic weight 101, discovered in 1955is named for Mendeléyev.